An idea that started in Seattle's public library has spread throughout America and beyond. The idea is simple: help to build a sense of community in a city by getting everyone to read the same book at the same time.
In addition to encouraging reading as a pursuit (追求) to be enjoyed by all, the program allows strangers to communicate by discussing the book on the bus, as well as promoting reading as an experience to be shared in families and schools. The idea came from Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl who launched (发起)the "If All of Seattle Read the Same Book " project in 1998. Her original program used author visits, study guides and book discussion groups to bring people together with a book, but the idea has since expanded to many other American cities, and even to Hong Kong.
In Chicago, the mayor appeared on television to announce the choice of To Kill a Mockingbird as the first book in the "One Book, One Chicago" program. As a result, reading clubs and neighborhood groups sprang up around the city. Across the US, stories emerged of parents and children reading to each other at night and strangers chatting away on the bus about plot and character.
The only problem arose in New York, where local readers could not decide on one book to represent the huge and diverse population. This may show that the idea works best in medium-sized cities or large towns, where a greater sense of unity(一致)can be achieved .Or it may show that New Yorkers rather missed the point, putting all their energy and passion into the choice of the book rather than discussion about a book itself.
As Nancy points out, the level of success is not measured by how many people read a book, but by how many people are enriched by the process or have enjoyed speaking to someone with whom they would not otherwise have shared a word.
1.What is the purpose of the project launched by Nancy?
A. To invite authors to guide readers.
B. To encourage people to read and share.
C. To involve people in community service.
D. To promote the friendship between cities.
2.Why was it difficult for New Yorkers to carry out the project?
A. They had little interest in reading.
B. They were too busy to read a book.
C. They came from many different backgrounds.
D. They lacked support from the local government.
3.According to the passage, where would the project be more easily carried out?
A. In large communities with little sense of unity
B. In large cities where libraries are far from home
C. In medium-sized cities with a large population
D. In large towns where agreement can be quickly reached
4.The underlined words “shared a word” in Paragraph 5 probably mean .
A. exchanged ideas with each other
B. discussed the meaning of a word
C. gained life experience
D. used the same language
5.According to Nancy, the degree of success of the project is judged by .
A. the careful selection of a proper book
B. the growing popularity of the writers
C. the number of people who benefit from reading
D. the number of books that each person reads
Have you got a Facebook account? Are you thinking of getting one? Jamie Simmonds has just signed up. Let's see how she's getting along.
My Diary
MONDAY: I'm officially a Facebooker. I find a few people I used to know and I've soon got seven friends. I've never felt so popular! I wonder if my old university flatmate Steve is on here…What do you know! He is! Maybe Facebook has its uses.
TUESDAY: I've received lots of nice welcoming messages on my wall. Later, I meet up with Steve for a drink after not seeing him for five years. We get on really well! Then, he uses his Facebook app for iPhone to suggest me as a friend to some other former classmates. Some of them even come to the pub and it's just like old times – possibly a bit too much like old times. During the night, photos are uploaded to Facebook.
WEDNESDAY: Disaster! My mum's on Facebook! Has she seen the photos of me dancing on the table last night? Has she shown them to dad? Oh. And I have a friend request – mum again!
THURSDAY: There's a message from my boyfriend, “so, it's over then, is it?” Obviously I haven't changed my settings to show I'm “in a relationship”, and I haven't even added him as a friend. Ah, well, I wonder what my ex-boyfriend is doing… Whoops! I accidentally type his name into my status box instead of the search and now every one can see it on their news feed.
FRIDAY: Time to update my status: “Work is boring. Can't wait for the weekend!” Oh, look, I've received a comment! Someone must feel the same way. Lots of my friends now “like” this status.
SATURDAY: Good news! I've got 100 friends. But wait! Someone has “un-friended” me! I look through my “friend list” to try to work out who it was. Why did they do that? Am I really such a terrible person? I never knew Facebook could be this cruel.
SUNDAY: Wake up. Check my Facebook page. Make coffee. Check my Facebook page again. Get ready to leave. Change my mind and check my Facebook page … again. I am becoming addicted to it! I think it's time to end it all before it takes over my life. I delete my account. Back to good, old, simple e-mails. Oh, look, I've got a message: A friend invited you to join Twitter. . .
In July 2010, Facebook had more than 500 million active users. The average Facebook user has 130 friends. Facebook is translated into more than 70 different languages. The world spends 700 billion minutes a month on Facebook. Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook page says he's a Harvard graduate, even though he actually dropped out to focus on Facebook. The site is valued at between $7.9 and $11 billion.
1.Why did Jamie's boyfriend ask her whether she had broken up with him?
A. He had seen photos of Jamie dancing on the table.
B. She showed in her Facebook that she was still not dating anyone.
C. Her boyfriend was angry that she refused to add him as her friend.
D. He saw the name of her ex-boyfriend on his news feed.
2.Which of the following is expressed in this article?
A. Visiting Facebook website took up a large part of Jamie's time and energy.
B. Jamie is enthusiastic about her present job.
C. Facebook was created by a Harvard graduate, Mark Zuckerberg.
D. Compared with Facebook, Twitter is a better choice for Jamie.
3.What does the word “un-friend” mean in “Someone has ‘un-friended' me!”?
A. Being unfriendly to others.
B. Having a quarrel with somebody.
C. Removing a name from the friend list.
D. Ending friendship with somebody.
4.Which of the following is true according to the passage ?
A. Steve was Jamie's boyfriend in the university.
B. People all over the world spend 700 billion minutes a week on Facebook.
C. Jamie's mother saw her dancing on the table last night.
D. Jamie felt enthusiastic about Facebook at first.
5.It can be learned from the passage that the writer's attitude towards Facebook is _________ .
A. subjective B. objective C. negative D. positive
Having a son as a woman who has only really been around women can be a strange experience. I sometimes tell my husband that raising our 3-year-old boy someone dropped me off on another planet where I didn’t know the _ and had no map.
My son makes me laugh like no other, but his desires and interests sometimes do feel as _ to me as another galaxy(银河系). He has taught me so much about the bigger man in my life (my husband) and even more about _ in general.
When I get mad at my husband now, I look at our son and _ . He was once as sweet and precious as my son, even if he is so _ now.
My mother-in-law’s attitude used to be confusing to me, but now I kind of _ it. I love my son violently. If some woman ever _ him, she’d be punished for that.
_ my daughter can’t find something, she searches. But my son is _ calling, “Mommy! Daddy! Where is my toy?” It’s so much like my husband. He will also spend 0.1 seconds _ before calling out to me and _ where the butter, cheese, or coat is. My son has taught me it’s a male thing. _ , that doesn’t mean I won’t break of it. I _ will. Isn’t that what all moms say?
My husband showers every day on most _ days. But on the weekends or on vacation? Forget it. Now I understand that. My son hates bath time and _ the whole time. I have to fight with him and reward him to get _ .
Nothing is sweeter for a mom than her baby boy. My son and daughter are equally _ to me, but in a different way. He tells me he loves me and how _ I am. I wish I could bottle that sweetness and _ it for the teen years.
1.A. feels like B. competes with C. contributes to D. turns out
2.A. connection B. movement C. language D. change
3.A. risky B. mild C. foreign D. classic
4.A. interests B. planets C. kids D. men
5.A. stop B. grow C. rise D. burst
6.A. exciting B. confusing C. touching D. annoying
7.A. set B. get C. make D. take
8.A. approaches B. hurts C. ignores D. persuades
9.A. Before B. Because C. If D. Unless
10.A. sincerely B. immediately C. fortunately D. obviously
11.A. guessing B. imagining C. wondering D. looking
12.A. thinking B. telling C. asking D. debating
13.A. However B. Moreover C. Otherwise D. Therefore
14.A. finally B. probably C. mainly D. definitely
15.A. cold B. rainy C. meeting D. working
16.A. laughs B. screams C. talks D. sings
17.A. weak B. tight C. clean D. clever
18.A. close B. welcome C. strange D. similar
19.A. regretful B. beautiful C. skillful D. shameful
20.A. remind B. exchange C. save D. appreciate
Only _____ as an interpreter _____ how important it was to practise spoken English.
A. when did I work…I realized B. when did I work…did I realize
C. when I work…did I realize D. when I worked…did I realize
We had a wonderful holiday; only the last two days were _____spoiled by the weather.
A. hardly B. extremely C. slightly D. approximately
Those in the living room, which are the most ______ to hurt us, are computers, televisions and lamps.
A. possible B. probable C. likely D. possibly